Prior art property management systems have typically focused on the management of information and services on a property by property basis. Particularly in the hospitality industry, the management of guest services, such as in-room movies, mini-bar, telephony, real-time room availability, and the like, is handled on local, location-level computer networks. The disadvantage of such localized management systems is that a multi-location owner must manage each property through independent, disparate systems.
In addition to the inefficiency of maintaining independent management systems for each property, the cost of hardware and software for each property rises in proportion to the number of properties requiring such systems. Accordingly, there is a need for a multi-location management system that is focused at the enterprise level, rather than the location-level.
Based on the application service provider (ASP) model, the present invention integrates the management of multiple properties through real-time, remote access to a single management system providing application and data management services across multiple properties.
An ASP typically provides individuals or enterprises access to applications and related services over a computer network, such as the Internet, for applications that would otherwise be individually located on personal or enterprise computers. This sharing of applications and services reduces the costs for individuals and enterprises in purchasing and licensing hardware and software. Through a user interface, such as a web browser in the case of Internet-based ASP's, a user can access the application and services of the application service provider. Through a centralized database, the ASP can process data and transactions for multiple users in an integrated environment.
Although the ASP model works well in environments where all data is exchanged and initiated by users connected to the ASP, property management applications provide a unique challenge to the adaptation of an ASP solution because of the need for two way communication to many location-level services. For example, in the hospitality industry, data associated with mini-bars, in-room movies, telephony services, room keys, and the like, needs to be utilized to automatically provide billing and tracking data to a property management system. In particular, the integration of data from such location-level services across multiple properties presents data delivery, security, and data processing issues that must be overcome to provide a unified, real-time multi-location management system.
The present invention answers these challenges by providing a centralized real-time multi-location management system through a “smart” network transceiver at each property. The transceiver manages the exchange of location-level service data to a central server, as well as provides a secure firewall for the location-level systems connected to the network transceiver.